Jeff Nichols’ ‘King Snake’ Begins Filming in Arkansas with Margaret Qualley, Michael Shannon, and Drew Starkey

Jeff Nichols’ “King Snake” has started production in Arkansas. Nichols’ regular cinematographer Adam Stone is back onboard for this one.

This is great news. After having had quite the trouble securing financing for two passion projects — a Cormac McCarthy adaptation and a sci-fi film — Nichols has moved on to this project, which actually has firm backing.

Margaret Qualley, Drew Starkey and Michael Shannon are set to star in “King Snake,” with FilmNation Entertainment producing. It’s being described as “Southern gothic horror.”

The film centers on a young couple (Qualley and Starkey) who inherit a farm and find themselves confronting the darkness tied to its past. As real-world hardships collide with supernatural forces, they face both earthly demons and otherworldly threats in a battle between good and evil.

It will be fascinating to see Nichols take on the Southern gothic horror genre. He’s long been a champion of Bill Paxton’s criminally underrated “Frailty,” a film that sits perfectly within that tradition. Just last year, Nichols praised Paxton’s remarkable work on his directorial debut:

It has one of Matthew McConaughey’s best performances. It’s a strange film that plays with the nature of reality and faith … This film is important. People should talk about it more.

Back in September, Shannon — who has appeared in all six of Nichols’ films — told Variety that times were tough for the filmmaker, who couldn’t seem to secure funding for any of his planned projects

It’s kind of mind-boggling. Jeff has a hard time getting money to make a film. He’s made six films—I would say all of them excellent, some actually magnificent motion pictures. He can’t get the money.

Nichols has been trying to spearhead a handful of passion projects: the sci-fi “Land of Opportunity,” which originally had Brad Pitt eyeing to star, before he finally dropped out, and adaptations of the late Cormac McCarthy’s final two novels, “The Passenger” and “Stella Maris.” Nichols had even struck a deal with the McCarthy estate to adapt these works.

Nichols is the director of “Shotgun Stories,” “Take Shelter,” “Mud,” “Midnight Special,” and “Loving.” His most recent film, “The Bikeriders,” was the weakest of his career and made little impact, earning $21M against a $40M budget — but he’s still one of the more interesting American filmmakers working today.